Providing Courses

Our educational activities are based on the broad themes of permaculture and sustainable living and comprise courses, visits and events. For some groups their visit is a one-off, others return each year. We have an Education Yurt that serves as an outdoor classroom, and kitchen and dining marquee(14m x 6m) for residential groups.

The members of the Co-op have a range of practical skills and are also able to offer talks, walks and experiential learning on many aspects of sustainable living from the ecological to the eclectic. In the past these have included nature connection, games in the woods, bushcraft, and forest school activities, bender building, introduction to permaculture, scything, DIY culture, consensus decision-making, Way of Council, tree mythology, natural horsemanship, renewable energy, and bees. We also write and speak on low-impact development, community building, environmental issues, grassland and woodland management and animal husbandry.

We host many volunteers who bring skills and knowledge with them and disseminate to others what they learn with us. We are pleased to respond to people seeking information and advice on any aspect of our project.

We have participated in a number of externally organized events, including the National Eco-Homes Tour and the National Big Dig garden project, which aims to encourage people to start growing food for themselves.

Bookings

If you are looking for a venue for your course or event and need a beautiful space email us for details.

If you would like to bring a student group please email us with suggested dates and your area of interest.

Schools and Colleges at Landmatters:

University of Plymouth (UoP): Several groups from the Education and Environmental Sciences departments have come with their lecturers for a day visit to see different aspects of sustainable living at work. Low-impact technologies and dwellings, permaculture design principles, water and compost systems, renewable energy and organic growing are among the subjects discussed in relation to the module being studied.

The monthly volunteering day with UoP’s Student Union runs from October to March each year, consisting of practical work and discussions of the principles of permaculture and sustainable living. These days are rewarding and entertaining for both groups, and we hope to continue our contact with them into the future.

We participate in research and interviews by students, writers and journalists.

Plymouth College, Kingsbridge Community College, Dartington Steiner School, Torbay Girls School, Brockwood School Hampshire, Schumacher College, Bicton College, and home-schooling groups have all visited on day or residential trips, sometimes taught by us and sometimes by their teachers.

We have hosted two Earth Activist Training courses, a specialist 2-week residential course incorporating a full 72-hour Permaculture Design Course.

Permaculture Association design courses from other areas bring their students on field trips to see permaculture in action.